Senegal

Senegal is a West African country, with Dakar serving as its capital. The country borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest; it also surrounds The Gambia. The country, settled by France during the 1850s as the result of France's colonial wars with Sine and other African kingdoms, was granted independence on 4 April 1960 as a part of the Mali Federation. This federation broke apart when Senegal declared its independence on 20 August of that same year. The country is located in a Sahelian climate, and its takes its name from the Senegal River, whose name, in turn, comes from the Wolof phrase for "Our Boat". In 2016, Senegal had a population of 15,411,614 people, with 43.3% being Wolof, 23.8% Fula, 14.7% Serer, 3.7% Jola, 3% Mandinka, 1.1% Soninke, 1% European or Lebanese, and 9.4% others. 92% of the population is Muslim, 7% Christian, and 1% animist or other faiths.